Cooler Master HAF XB Review

Introduction:

There is yet another member joining the High Air Flow product line from Cooler Master today: the HAF XB. Not only is she the newest in the series, she is also the first of a new form factor Cooler Master is adding to its line. This chassis is designed for all of you LAN party goers as it was built for transporting, but it also reaches out to benchers alike with the option for open bench testing. Its small enough, yet somehow roomie enough to support three double wide graphics cards, a full ATX board, and up to a 120mm radiator for water cooling. It seems like a lot to pack into a traveling case – but CM says the XB did it.

This new form factor (name pending?), isn't quite a mid-tower, not really a full-tower, and not exactly a tower at all. It's, I guess, what you'd really call a "LAN" form factor – it fits the more desktop-style case from when your old CRT used to sit right on top of everything. It's quite a bit taller than that, but still not half the height of a full tower case, and I'm adding to the confusion. The HAF XB is a wild card on the market; it brings to the field its own design that you will either love or loathe. To me it appears to be the ultimate LAN rig; let's see what you think…

Closer Look:

Starting off with the box, well, normally I would; today I'll give you a little sneak of how it came to me this time. Since the case is being released today – I got a pre-release sample, so this is really before the finalized graphics for the box were ready. It's kind of a neat aspect of reviewing products, sometimes you get a little brown box with a surprise inside. The HAF XB was just this. I couldn't "Google" to see pictures of it; I had to open it up to find out what was inside.

It does, on the other hand, pack like the finalized packaged product; it's bagged in plastic to keep it safe from the elements and capped with foam to protect it on its journey to you. Even the box comes with nice hand holds to carry it on in. I'm pretty excited to see the full rig and exactly how the guts are going to work.

Yes, I'll admit I'm being a bit cruel holding back the actual full appearance of the case from you on this first page – but isn't the anticipation just killing you now? The next page dives right in, so go get your fill on this exciting new case.